


Avidya

by KrisseyCrystal (IceCreAMS)



Series: Fluff Bingo [15]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Big Sibling, Fluff, Fluff Bingo!, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Isa is Bad at Feelings (Kingdom Hearts), Wayfinder Trio (Kingdom Hearts), also aqua and terra are in the background there so you can kind of count them, but pre-RE:mind, post-kh3, that's ok tho bc Kairi's got to work through a few things too, there's uh sorikai if you squint bc i can't help myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:13:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23995816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceCreAMS/pseuds/KrisseyCrystal
Summary: After Sora disappears, Kairi doesn't immediately agree to sleeping for Ansem's investigations. She wants to fight. She intends to fight. She's going to find Sora herself.If only there wasn't a scar-faced and blue-haired loser stubbornly following her the entire time.
Series: Fluff Bingo [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1655521
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10
Collections: Writing Squad Fluff Bingo





	Avidya

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LovelyLessie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyLessie/gifts).



When Sora is gone and Kairi doesn’t know what to do with her empty hands because the one that used to hold her right has disappeared and the one who used to hold her left chased after him in the hopes of bringing him back, Kairi puts herself to good use. Riku is Riku and refuses to take her with him, so Kairi takes Sora’s gummi ship and seeks out her own adventures for as long as she thinks it’ll help. 

She doesn’t need to--will not--wait for Sora to be found when she can look for him herself.

She just…doesn’t know what to think about the ever-present shadow that stubbornly hovers at her back.

* * *

Kairi swings Destiny’s Embrace in a strong, downward strike. After the wriggly heartless under her boots bursts and dissolves, she spins around. Her mouth is curled into a dark, frowning curve; her keyblade snaps out to strike another leaping at her from her right. The flowers along the edge cut through the shadow’s throat, ripping it into nothing. “I don’t need your help.”

“That was never debated.”

Kairi rolls her eyes. She digs the heel of her boot into soil, grabs the hilt of Embrace with both hands, and shoves it forward into the heartless soldier scrabbling at her. “Then stop following me.”

Isa’s blue hair fans around his shoulders as he moves. He is not used to the keyblade in his hand; he keeps trying to wield it like his usual claymore. 

To be honest, she can’t even believe the thing is _in_ his hands at all.

With a growling cry, Kairi cuts the last shadow down and releases a deep sigh. Destiny’s Embrace glitters away, but she would be lying if she tried to say she wasn’t tempted to keep it ready at a moment’s notice with him around.

“There. They’re all gone now,” she says and fists her hands at her sides. “I’m fine. You can go back to Twilight Town.”

Isa doesn’t say a word, so Kairi turns around again. He stands with his arms crossed over his chest, feet shoulder-width apart, a yard or two behind her like he expects her to be okay with him here in the first place.

“I _said_ ,” she stresses and extends her arms at either side, “you can go back. If you were waiting for something like permission, then there it is! You have it! Bye!”

When he still doesn’t say anything, Kairi makes a grand show of rolling her eyes and spinning around to walk down this world’s beautifully forested hill. She doesn’t have the time or patience for him. 

So why the hell can she feel him following her descent?

* * *

The gummi ship’s rockets putter as it comes to a stop. Space is vast and infinite around them, an endless expanse of stars and criss-crossed nebulas that look like the smokey efforts of a child finger painting with watercolor. It’s gorgeous. It’s immense. It’s serene. It’s exactly what Kairi needs right now.

“Okay, dude, we need to talk. It’s been three days. When are you finally gonna get off this ship and leave me alone?”

Kairi’s cheek is bunched against her palm as she lounges in the driver’s seat. Her other wrist hangs loosely over the steering, eyes lifting to the glass dome above them and Isa’s frowning reflection she can see the faint outline of.

Isa doesn’t answer.

Which is exactly half of the problem.

Kairi turns, tossing both of her feet over the side of the pilot’s chair. “Why aren’t you answering me?”

“There’s no answer I have to give that will be satisfactory to you.”

“That’s--” Kairi almost bites her tongue. It’s frustratingly accurate. That pisses her off, too. “Look. I can try, okay? I can try to understand but that’s only if you have a good reason.”

“You speak like you already think I’m _not_ here for a good reason.”

“I have it in good faith that you’re not here for Sora and that’s the only reason I see that’s good right now.” Kairi glares hard into citrine eyes; for some reason, they remind her of acid. “So no, I don’t think you’re here for a ‘good’ reason.”

Isa’s look is enough to communicate a single, humbling word: _Exactly._

“You say you’ll try,” he mutters quietly. “But pre-condemning me based upon your presumptions seems to hinder that effort.”

Kairi’s lips slam together.

In echo to her silence, something in Isa softens. He turns to look out at the endless stretch of space surrounding them. There’s a glimmering, sunset-painted world surrounded by flower petals a fair distance away. “If you wish to know, if you care to…” he does not finish that thought; perhaps it’s because he cannot finish it. “…I wish for atonement.”

“…what, now?”

Isa’s sharp, angular features harden. His mouth slips down into a frown. “I said, I--”

“--no, no, I heard what you said! It’s that you actually think that’s going to _happen_.” Kairi’s voice shakes a little. Her hands ball into fists. There’s a tremulous pause in her speech, a moment that teeters on the edge of _something_ , and then it bursts. “Ugh! I was kind enough to let you join me for a few days, but if I’m being honest? I thought it was because of this. I had a gut feeling it was because of some…misguided attempt like this to get me to forgive you for what you did. And I thought, ‘Sure, why not?’ anyway, because that’s what Sora would have done!”

“Kairi--”

“--but everytime I look at you, I get so angry!” Kairi’s voice tilts; it tightens and changes. “I guess that makes me a hypocrite, doesn’t it? I want to be angry at you for kidnapping me, for how you treated Sora _,_ but he isn’t even _here right now_ after he made himself disappear from saving all of us! From saving _me_ by using the power of _waking_ again _,_ and _\--_!”

“ _Kairi!”_

Kairi’s fist, thrown to the side, knocks against the gummi sheep’s steering. With a violent _yank_ to the right, Kairi and Isa spill over onto the floor and side of the lopsided ship. Kairi’s knee bangs against the other co-pilot chair. Her back crashes against the steel wall of the cockpit siding. With a short cry and hiss, she grabs at her knee with both hands and bows her head over her leg. Her back curls.

After a long moment, Isa slowly rises to his feet first.

He climbs to the steering and sets the gummi ship right side up.

After an even longer moment, Isa walks over to kneel in front of her. “Kairi.”

“…I’m sorry…”

“Kairi _._ ”

Kairi sniffs and blinks up at him. She hates the way her eyes water and the way her lower lip trembles. She hates how tight her chest is. “I’m sorry,” she gasps again and she hates those words but right now, she thinks she hates herself most. “I’m such an idiot. What right do I have to be angry with you anymore when it’s my fault the two most important people to me are gone?”

Isa’s hand falls on hers and gently pries away her hands from her knee. A big, wide bruise is purpling and mottling, forming a cathartic ring of blue-black. 

“I think…” Isa begins and gently releases her hands to cast _cure_ over her knee. “…you will find that you and I are more alike than you think.”

Kairi blinks up at Isa. 

“It seems we both must learn to forgive ourselves.”

Kairi takes a deep breath in and feels the way her lungs swell with it, with air. For the first time in three days, the knot in her chest finally begins to loosen.

* * *

“Can you believe it’s already been over a month?”

Kairi winces. Hard. 

Ventus straightens up and quickly puts out a hand on her arm. He gives it a gentle squeeze. “Oh, I didn’t mean that in a bad way! Ugh, I’m sorry. I should’ve been more thoughtful…I meant it in like a--”

“--no.” Kairi shakes her head and puts on a brave face. She puts on a good smile and covers his hand with her own. Gently, she pulls it away and sets their hands down on the counter between them. “I know what you mean. You’ve been reunited with your family for over a month now and that’s…really wonderful, Ventus. I’m happy for you. And I know that wherever he is, Sora’s happy, too.”

It’s funny watching the emotions that fly over Ventus’ face at the mention of “family.” He’s so much like Sora and Roxas that way; he wears his heart so visibly. He’s so easy to read. 

It is so warm in this kitchen, too, Kairi thinks. So light and airy. Just being here, sitting with friends again after traveling and fighting for so long with no leads, is more rejuvenating than the warm coffee cup she cradles between her hands. Ventus, Aqua, and Terra have done well for themselves, she thinks. They have a lovely epilogue together.

It’ll end soon, she knows. The three have already told her they have plans to help join the search for Sora, intending to dive into the Realm of Darkness as a “just in case.” Just as she has finally decided she intends to take Ansem up on his offer of a year-long sleep so he can study her heart. It’s the most frustrating decision she has ever had to make: to try to help by, of all things, _resting_ , when really she wants to _fight, fight, fight--_ but if something in her slumbering heart holds a key to finding Sora again, well. 

She did say she’d do anything.

It’s with an endearing blush that Ventus raises a finger to scratch at his cheek. “Y-yeah. My family…”

Kairi raises an eyebrow. A small smile stretches her face. “What, you don’t agree?”

“What?”

“You wouldn’t call them that?”

“Oh, no, calling them my family’s perfect! I mean, really, Aqua and Terra have always kind of been big siblings to me, so I guess it makes sense. It’s just funny to hear the word out loud and not in my heart, y’know?” Ventus smiles. He looks over Kairi’s shoulder to the trio awkwardly talking beyond them, in the lounge area of their home, however temporary it may be. “But I guess…what else would you call people who have your back no matter the bad you’ve done?”

Kairi thinks about the month she’s spent searching for Sora. She thinks about all the adventures she’s been on, all of the heartless and unversed and nobodies she’s fought. She thinks about the one person who chose to be there through it all, however much she fought him on it at the start.

And for the first time, she thinks maybe Isa really does deserve the keyblade he wields.

Her eyes land on him, frowning and clearly uncomfortable between Aqua and Terra. Isa looks back and meets her eyes in turn with an expression that bends the scar across his face in a pitiful read of, _Please. Save me._

Kairi laughs and takes a long, slow sip of her coffee. She raises her other hand to give him a… _friendly_ gesture.

When he raises his hand to give it back, she thinks maybe there’s truth to what Ventus says.

**Author's Note:**

> wow I haven't written for KH in ages. are these guys in character? ;A; idk man. It's beeN SO LONG. I CAN'T TELL ANYMORE
> 
> BIG THANKS TO MY PAL @alounuitte ON TUMBLR WHO REQUESTED THESE TWO + "BIG SIBLING." honestly what a galaxy brain take: giving isa & kairi a chance to bond and be sibling-ish. i absolutely dig it. They also gave me a DA2 prompt from my fluff bingo! card that i am SUPER excited to get to asldfkjsdf so just lettin' ya know but we're gonna have good times, ya'll.
> 
> BIG THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO REQUESTED STUFF my fluff bingo card is now full so I'll keep chugging away at the ones I've already been given!! thanks for reading!!


End file.
